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Local Church maps
out future directions
"My hope is that after the
Royal Commission there
will be no more conspiracy
of silence around child abuse, no more
blaming the victim, no more resigned
acceptance that it's going to happen.
These would be great outcomes. If the
Church has to take a battering along
the way, so be it. In the meantime, we
in the Church must strive to the utmost
to help the Royal Commission do its
job." Bishop Bill Wright
Key advisory personnel to Bishop Bill
Wright were faced with an important yet
tough task recently: to reflect on and
discern the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-
Newcastle's future directions.
Representatives of clergy, parish
communities, diocesan councils, Catholic
schools and CatholicCare gathered for
two days at St Joseph's Retreat Centre
Kincumber. Keen to recognise the
diocese's troubled history and at the same
time acknowledge its ongoing commitment
to promoting the protection and welfare
of all children, the group accepted that a
welcomed priority, a Royal Commission,
had already been determined. With that in
mind and under the guidance of a Bishop
who's openly stated in the past that we
"must strive to the utmost to help the
Royal Commission do its job", the group
took up the task of developing a shared
and unifying sense of direction; one that
supports the role of the Commission but
does not become defined by it.
Members of the group engaged in
discussions with Bishop Bill and were
given the rare opportunity to connect with,
and learn from, individuals from all areas
of the diocese whom they may never have
had the opportunity to meet.
Bishop Bill asked the group to look at
three priorities he had identified and
to express their concerns and desires,
helping to decide on areas to be prioritised
before 2015. Issues raised included a
declining number of priests, clergy in
parish leadership, parishes as the centre
of the mission and life of the diocese
and clarifying the role of clergy within
ministering and leadership teams in
parishes.
On the second day, participants were
invited to join groups to outline the
measurable actions to occur in 2013 and
2014 and decide on four key priorities
from a possible 14 suggestions. Groups
determined that priority goals could include
identifying and implementing the lessons
learned from abuse issues, working on
ensuring parishes are welcoming and
inclusive, revisiting sacramental programs,
faith development in schools, developing
innovative models of ministry and parish
leadership and training and forming lay
leaders. A culture of collaboration between
agencies such as CatholicCare and the
Catholic Schools Office was identified as
needing improvement, as were internal and
external communications. The pastoral
plan is to be reviewed, a flagship Catholic
presence in community outreach achieved
BY EMMA BLACKFORD
and a long term vision for the diocese
developed.
Diocesan Pastoral Council Chair Bal Gato
embraced the opportunity to contribute,
saying, "The forum allowed others to open
their hearts and minds to what's important,
not just to their agency but across all
facets of our diocese. Within the great
discussions that were had, many leaders
learnt a lot about other agencies, parish
issues, shortfalls in linkages between each
agency and parishes and what's important
in going forward."
Vice Chancellor Pastoral Ministries, Teresa
Brierley, said, "It was clear to all that our
parishes are central to our understanding
of who we are as Church and this is what
we need to understand as we go about our
ministries and employment. The people
from all these representative groups took
time informally and in work groups to
understand how they might assist each
other and the wider community to bring
about the mission of Jesus in this Year of
Grace and beyond."
To view the three areas of priority
articulated by Bishop Bill and the four
priority areas decided by the group for
2013-2014, as well as the fourteen areas
recognised as needing attention at the
retreat, please visit www.mn.catholic.
org.au/about/pastoral-planning
(l-r) Bev Hincks, Maryanne Hacker, Ray Collins and Bal Gato deliberate.
9
www.mn.catholic.org.au Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle
NEWS